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Product Reviews

Reviewer:
Brausch
 
Top 100  Reviewer Top 100 DVD Reviewer
Reviews:
0
Votes:
263 (72% helpful)

Page 1 of 0

  1.  An Offer You Can refuse

    Posted: 

    The biggest disappointment of the year. The original Mafia was tightly plotted with hard but fair gameplay complementing a well wrtten story and on completion offered the chance to do silly missions for hot rods. The sequel cobbles together an incomprehensible plot from 101 gangster cliches and none of it makes any sense. 2K have been shameless in their greed with multiple DLC, none of it much good. A website has investigated the game and found a great deal of locked off code which shows what the game was originally intended to be - gun licences, shooting from cars, a race track, property purchases, cars for sale, car tuning, reputation, a strip club, other characters' houses, and many more missions (which might have made the story make sense). The gameplay isn't bad but the PC version not only has superior graphics to the console versions, it also has much higher traffic density

  2.  You're Funny

    Posted: 

    The Mystery Man series flourishes as Botanic Avenue's paranoid, hypochondriac bookseller spots the chance to exploit a desperate author. However things take a turn for the messy and attentions are focussed on plastic surgeon Dr Yes, whacks man Buddy Wailer and botoxed femme fatale Pearl Knecklass (best name ever). Just as much mad fun as the other two in the series. Best last line in any book I've read this year

  3.  A Flying Penguin

    Posted: 

    Gibson's Blue Ant trilogy comes to a conclusion in fine style. The author seems to be enjoying his recently found lightness of touch that has allowed his characters to breathe and flourish in a book which develops Spook Country's unique take on the geopolitical thriller into a crime/(commercial) espionage caper that's both fun and contains interesting comments on the use of military clothing as fashion. Over 25 years after Neuromancer Gibson is still moving forward and has interesting things to say

  4.  Shocking, Positively Shocking

    Posted: 

    Deaver seems to have been overwhelmed with the novelty of the way he's come up with for the killer to achieve his ends and has totally ignored the sheer absurdity of it all. The killer could easily have accomplished what he wanted by far simpler and more credible means. The plot is pretty straightforward and easy to guess the ending if you're a regular reader. Decent enough entertainment but really just marking time

  5.  Disappointing

    Posted: 

    Classic film but zero effort from Optimum. The good news is its the full international version the bad news is no extras at all.

  6.  Very Good

    Posted: 

    After seeing many unenthusiastic reviews I bought it because Denzel Washington is a great actor and it was cheap. I'm not a fan of overly processed films but the style was appropriate for once, there's a first rate supporting cast including Gary Oldman and a barely recognisible Michael Gambon pops up briefly. I think the film was mismarketed with trailers portraying it as an action thriller when its actually a sort of a cross between The Road and the game Fallout 3. If you don't mind the leisurely pace and less frequent than expected (but still well staged) action scenes then you'll get some enjoyment out of it. The highly processed image is rendered very well on blu with more subtlety than the DVD edition

  7.  Warning

    Posted: 

    Some forums are reporting that the sound goes wildly out of synch from around 1h4m onwards on some machines. Icon are showing no interest in responding to complaints, so check it as soon as you get it. The film is a decent couple of hours of entertainment and it updates the plot well to take account of changes in the power of governments and corporations. Excellent transfer.

  8.  Solid entertainment

    Posted: 

    Maybe not a full price purchase but a solid 90 minutes of entertainment. Christian Slater is highly enjoyable and Wes Bentley does a decent job with the less eye-catching part. Direction and cinematography are good with some nice sylistic touches that stop the film becoming too bland. At a low price I'd say its definite value for money

  9.  Brilliant

    Posted: 

    Zombies, since Shaun Of The Dead they've been everywhere, slow, fast, infected, brain chomping and all points in between. So much so that if the dead actually rose and began gnawing everything with a pulse it would only be second item on the news. Sadly, most of the recent zombie boom films have been pretty poor, either through lack of money or lack of script. Zombieland succeeds because it pays great attention to character as well as gore. The performances are all great but Woody Harrelson deserves special praise for a career best, instantly likeable and revealed later as rather tragic. The film doesn't scrimp on action and takes a Left4Dead kind of approach which keeps things fresh. Add a hilarious cameo by a comedy legend and you've got a film that stands proud in the illustrious company of both Shaun and Romero's best films. Excellent AV quality

  10.  Ultimate DNR Edition

    Posted: 

    Predator has always looked dark, indistinct and very, very grainy. I don't know whether the film stock used was unsuitable for the low light and high humidity shooting conditions or what. The first blu was actually a pretty good stab at the cinematic appearance albeit with some video noise added to the grain and a low bitrate caused by a single layer disc. Presunably to save money Fox have not created a new master from a better source but have treated the old one to massive DNR, removing nearly all film grain. Consequently in some shots figures look like plastic toys especially Arnold's red shirt. Brightness and colour have been increased which gives a perceived increase in detail if not an actual one. It doesn't actually look bad except for some odd movements and the waterfall looks strange, it just doesn't look like the cinematic presentation. Most casual viewers will be satisfied with this edition but revisionism of this kind sets a worrying precedent if film companies attempt to make old films look like new ones instead of accepting that some films have their limitations and should be respected.